Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, was weird. No other way of saying it. First time in who knows how long that I didn't host either a big pre-thanksgiving or actual thanksgiving dinner.

I missed cooking a big bash meal. I missed having family around me. I missed having the extended/adopted family visit.

I was grateful for so many things. House, health, husband.... Yet I still had a bittersweet taste in my mouth:

No fridge means no safe defrosting or brining of a turkey, no oven means no roasted turkey or anything else for that matter, no power means no whipped mashed potatoes or cream for pie.

The usual guest list was not even possible! Family and friends are scattered across the US, seeking refuge from the post-hurricane chaos.

C and I broke our no-dining-out-on-holidays rule and, much to our surprise actually, had an awesome meal. But it was hard to see our restaurant-owner friends running ragged after all the struggle to keep their business open for over 2 months without power or landline.

Honestly, it felt like we -the ones in the island- were the expatriates. It reminded me of the one time C and I had Christmas dinner at a pizza parlor in his hometown in Switzerland. We were the only sit-down guests. Weird. Not sad or anything, just frigging weird.

Our country is not recognizable. It doesn't feel like home anymore.

The saving grace for TG day? The previous evening.

Wednesday night we had two friends over for dinner. One is a frequent guest, my bff and partner in crime. The other was a friend I had not seen in at least 25yrs that has come back into my life via the re-connecting magic of Facebook.

I cooked and it came out ok. We sat, talked, drank wine, ate... normal stuff. Even when the generator went out and left us in the dark we just flipped to the solar lights and carried on.

The Wednesday dinner reminded me that there will always be people at your table if you open yourself to it. That yes, even though the New Normal is different from our beloved Old Normal, it can still be pretty cool and we just need to give ourselves time to grow into it. Ucenter Dress items to wear of the party online

Wednesday night felt like we will, somehow and sometime, regain our Home.

So, happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you. May you all have a Wednesday night.